MAC KIRK

  Instead of a long message I think we can profit from the wisdom of others.   I seem to believe that sometimes for whatever reason,  we have a tendency to skim over things and not take them to heart. Therefore,  I suggest Thomas Watson , " All Things for Good" for a change and encouragement in our Christian lives . This dear little book published by Banner of Truth Trust was first published in the 1600's as "The Divine Cordial". Watson was the minister of St. Stephen's, Walbrook. The theme of the book comes from the familiar verse Romans 8:28 " We know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them that are the called according to His purpose." 1.  We know.  So often we don't know ( a lack of love for God and trust in Him?)---- we must trust in God's plan which is unknown to us.  It reminds me of the wooden piece that my grandfather , the retired Presbyterian , and son of G Campell Morgan gave me.  It looks like the...

  Trinity 2026  I begin with this illustration, ---St. Augustine on the Trinity One day when St. Augustine was at his wits' end to understand and explain the Trinity, he went out for a walk. He kept turning over in his mind, "One God, but three Persons. Three Persons--not three Gods but one God. What does it mean? How can it be explained? How can my mind take it in?" And so he was torturing his mind and beating his brains out, when he saw a little boy on the beach. He approached him to see what he was doing. The child had dug a small hole in the sand. With his hands he was carrying water from the ocean and was dumping it in the little hole. St. Augustine asked, "What are you doing, my child?" The child replied, "I want to put all of the water of the ocean into this hole." St. Augustine asked, "But is it possible for all of the water of this great ocean to be contained in this little hole?" And then it dawned on Augustine, "If the water o...

  Pentecost ---am I a spiritual person or not? Pentecost today May 24 , but the real issue is " Am I am spiritual person or not?" ACTS 2    Today I want to ask some deeply spiritual questions because somehow in our day these questions are in the background.  What is the foreground?  It depends on who you ask of course.  Some struggle with age related issues and we can id with that.  Some have issues related to what kind of worship should we be having in our culture and others just are not engaged in a deep way perhaps in some of the questions I want to ask today.  Of course we always have the foreground issues of the look of the building (which is important), etc......and who is coming or not coming to hear the preaching of the Word and receive the Holy Communion.  These may be good things to think about today .  We should do that.    As we look to the Scriptures today you will see i...

Morning Prayer Ascension Thursday May 14 Ephesians 4:1-16 1 I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, 2 With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; 3 Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; 5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all. 7 But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. 8 Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. 9 (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? 10 He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.) 11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, e...

  Making of Sermons Rogation Sunday, 5th S. after Easter and Making of our Lives through Sowing  and Reaping I had the privilege of talking with a gentleman in California when I was there who used to discuss things with me in the retirement home where my Dad was living.  ( He and his wife were both residents of the beautiful Retirement Home in Pacific Grove)I found out later I could never win an argument /discussion as he always seemed to have an answer.  Later I found out  he was the retired head of the Rhetoric dept and debate at Stanford Univ! No wonder. After several visits out there to see Dad we became friends and still discussed , but I was more prepared knowing who he was . He wrote a book recently on " The Rhetoric of the Pulpit" , Dr. Jon Ericson, and on the back he took my endorsement as a Retired Army Chaplain  along with several others who had read his mss and assisted in that way. One of the things he says in his book which I rather like is " ...